Manhattan’s next new, high-profile hotel opens on March 10 at 32 W. 48th St. — the Kimpton Era Midtown, a brand of global giant IHG Hotels & Resorts.
Extell, which is putting up all kinds of buildings all over the grid, developed the 33-story tower with 529 guest rooms.
IHG’s web site describes the inn’s rooms as “petite but brimming with character.” The project has four food and beverage venues including Rocco DiSpirito’s Italian-American themed restaurant, Bar Rocco. The project also includes casual cafe The Parlor, Latin steakhouse Amasa and rooftop izakaya Jade Rabbit, all managed by hospitality company Apiici.
The gleaming tower brings more glass to the long block between Fifth and Sixth avenues, which remains a mix of modern and prewar structures.
One older venue that happily survived the Kimpton’s five-year construction is long-lived Szechanese restaurant Wu Liang Ye next door. When Extell bought air rights above the four-story building in 2018, Extell chief Gary Barnett told us the purchase wouldn’t affect or hurt the restaurant.
He was true to his word. Now that scaffolding is down, Wu Liang Ye’s entrance up a tall stoop is easily visible again for the first time since 2018.
